Fire intensity in your stove

I definitely think a hybrid is worth all the hype, they have made them to be worked hard to produce a lot of heat in a short amount of time as well as being so sensitive that in warmer temps they will go 12+ hrs and still have coals to reload with. In time, a new hybrid stove owner will (along with using this forum) find all the techniques to make this stoves work at their best. It's so good we share information here to make everyone a better burner.

 

Agree totally. Hybrids are just that - the best of two worlds blended into one. All things considered they burn longer than EPA secondary burn stoves and throw more heat and burn cleaner on average also. Yet, we still have a great fire to watch through the glass and the glass stays pretty clean. Was not sure what to expect at first but now we are getting used to it we like ours a lot. The heat is awesome for our old bodies. Next best thing to a south sea island in the sun.

 

Typically no flames on the 16 to 30 hour burns ((where the white edges are on the wood is burning, orange glowing )
Just a glowing Cat combustor after it's set



When burning on high, theres more flames, only get 12- 14 hours when burning this hot:

 

I've been a bit slow to buy into the hybrid designs. However, from reading these forums, it does appear that many owners really need/want the higher heat output that these stoves produce compared to a cat-only stove. I don't expect to raise my house temp more than a degree/hour so I plan accordingly; I don't think this level of warm up is acceptable to most, so here the hybrid would really be good. I do have concerns about the longer term impact of the higher firebox temps in the hybrids; I suppose time will tell if these concerns have any merit or not.

ranger bob looking forward to reading about your stove and how you worked through some of the issues you were having early on with your hybrid.

 

On low burn, are you getting much heat?

 

Yea quite a bit of heat

Like everyone & their stove there's a learning curve,
it took a bit to get the stove & me dialed in so I don't overheat the house. (a little over 2,000 sq ft)

Above 40° we get near 36 hour burns with full loads but learned to do 1/2 loads so not too much heat.

24 hour low burns is enough to keep the house warm & in the low 70° s when it's 25° - 35° outside.

In the 20°s we turn the fan on
1 & about 1/4 loads per 24 hours (1/4 load is kind of a coal burn down med high burn ) Then ready for a full load at night.

10° & colder burn on high & run the fans.
2 full loads, 12 hours ±burns on full loads when it's really cold.
Got to keep the heat output high so I get a lot of coals building up
after a few days I do a coal burn-down keeping the heat output high.

44° right now, but windy will get a 24+ hour burn &
probably have to open the doors for a bit to cool it down.
With the wind, probably re-load around 9 pm tomorrow night.

4 hrs into the burn since full load, cat barely glowing , getting good heat output, house 76°
Stove still pretty full of wood:

 

Don't know why, but I can't get used to burning wood without seeing flames. Seeing bogydave's stove in action is very helpful and shows the potential of a cat stove.

 

Our average winter temps are typically below zero F most of late dec/jan/feb and early march. Much like Alaska. This where hybrids shine. Even though our home is super insulated with low e windows it still requires a lot of heat when its 30 below zero. A benign climate offers a lot more options as far as stove type, size, choice is concerned.

 

No cat here. Lazy flame in the Jotul Black Bear works for us.